Sunday, November 30, 2014

The Adaptation of YA Books To Films Is On The Rise. Here Are Some Of Them That Are In The Works In Hollywood.

With the success of Twilight and The Hunger Games, Hollywood has gone mad for YA novels especially those with a built in fan base.

So in the hopes of continuing to catch lightening in a barrel, which I'm all for, they once again look to YA authors to help them hit a home run at the box office.

Here are just a few YA book adaptations in the Hollywood pipeline:

The Uglies

The popular 2005 science fiction series by Scott Westerfeld takes place in a dystopian society in which everyone is considered an “Ugly” until they reach the age of 16, when they get turned into a “Pretty.” The story focuses specifically on teenager Tally Youngblood as she approaches the time of the transition and questions whether she really wants to go through with it. Further, 20th Century Fox and producer John Davis (Eragon) bought the film rights to adapt the first novel of the four-book series into film. The movie was originally scheduled to be released in the 2011, but was then pushed back and eventually canceled. Now, the flick is reportedly once again in the works, but it’s unclear when production will start.

The Here and Now

Alcon Entertainment, Alloy Entertainment, and Kira Davis’s 8:38 Productions have teamed up to acquire film rights to Ann Brashares’s latest YA novel, The Here and Now, which was released in April of this year. The three companies adapted Brashares’s previous bestselling books, the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, into a 2005 film and 2008 sequel. The novel follows a 17-year-old girl from the future who immigrated to New York when she was twelve to save the world from a mosquito-born illness headed their way. Alcon’s Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson will co-produce with Davis alongside Alloy president Les Morgenstein and VP of Alloy features Elysa Dutton.

The Queen of Tearling

The fantasy epic trilogy, described as a “female-oriented Game of Thrones,” was purchased by publisher HarperCollins in February and the debut book was published in July. Warner Bros. has already acquired the rights to the book and Emma Watson, who has plenty of experience turning a much buzzed about series into film, has already signed on to star in and executive produce the film adaptation. Her participation in the film has already garnered fans’ interest, as the actress has previously declared she wouldn’t do another franchise. Former Harry Potter producer David Heyman has also reportedly already been hired.

Should be very interesting indeed! Oh but wait there's more! If you want more of a sneak peek--